


How We Cope

by FTSMotherPumpkin



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Baby shark, Coping, Embarrassment, Emotional Decompression, F/F, Post-Mission, implied PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23749648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FTSMotherPumpkin/pseuds/FTSMotherPumpkin
Summary: Hana gets caught in the middle of her post-mission ritual.
Relationships: Hana "D.Va" Song/Angela "Mercy" Ziegler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	How We Cope

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Overwatch fic so I apologize if it seems out of character in any way. Also, I confess that I do not play the game at all, though I'm super into the lore (still learning!). I do not have PTSD and haven't faced any similar struggles in life so hopefully I'm not offending anyone or reaching too far with anything.
> 
> There is mention of Pharah/Mercy but I didn't tag it because it's brief.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Hana’s room was still, just as she had left it, upon her arrival home from her latest mission. Sun shone in through the blinds, a thin layer of dust settled softly over her belongings. She tossed her pink duffle bag carelessly on the floor and flopped face-first onto her duvet. The crick in her neck, an old gaming injury she liked to joke, made itself known when she went to roll over onto her back.

The mission hadn’t gone quite as planned; a simple recon task went sour quickly when the enemy launched a surprise attack. They closed in rapidly, instantly targeting her cockpit and leaving her no choice but to self-destruct. Though glad to report no casualties and minimal bodily injury to her team, Hana spent the last hour and a half in a tortuous debriefing. Winston had the same thing to say to her that he had after the past two missions: self-destruction is a last resort feature, not something to be taken lightly. He didn’t yell, raising his voice wasn’t his modus operandi unless absolutely necessary, but she almost wished he did so feeling like a scolded child wouldn’t be so unusual.

She argued that she had done what was necessary to protect herself and the team, though she purposely omitted how she miscalculated the detonation radius and may have caused a bit more damage than expected. But she knew he didn’t approve of her haphazardly destroying her tank, costing the organization money and wrecking something wonderful that a tinkerer like himself had devoted his life’s work to building. More than that, he worried about the people. Their sole purpose as an organization was to protect and serve Earth’s civilians and negligence could prove to be more harmful than helpful.

Sitting up, she checked the time on her tablet before making her way over to her computer setup. Though she had promised her fans a livestream after her return, some kind of update at the very least, it was the last thing she wanted to do. Her desktop hummed to life as she unscrewed the cap on a bottle of Mountain Dew, courtesy of the mini fridge beneath her desk. The bright green soda perked her up a bit but she couldn’t quite shake the agitation. Hana opened her browser to YouTube, hesitating for a fraction of a second before scrolling through her private playlist to find the perfect video to help her relax.

Immediately, Pororo filled both of her screens. The little blue penguin brought a smile to Hana’s face instantly. She mouthed the theme song, fingers tapping along as she sipped her Mountain Dew. The tension in her body started to melt, Winston’s disapproval slowly fading from her conscience.

After a few episodes of Korea’s most beloved children’s cartoon, Hana switched over to another favorite: The Shark Family Song. Given that the verses were pretty repetitive, she easily sang along, bobbing side to side in her chair.

“Hana? You didn’t come see me for your medi—oh!” Angela peeked into the unlocked room, looking extremely confused at the childish music and colorful video playing across the screen.

“Dr. Ziegler!” Hana hadn’t heard anyone knock due to the volume, and her own loud singing, “it’s…I…” She scrambled to close the window, cheeks burning in embarrassment that someone, especially the gorgeous Angela Ziegler, was now aware of her secret decompression technique. Swearing in Korean under her breath, she kept her head bowed towards her keyboard, hoping that Angela would take the hint and leave her to drown in her humiliation alone. She peeked after a few beats to find the doctor settled on her bed, grinning mischievously. A clipboard rested on her crossed knees.

“So…would you like to tell me what that was?” Angela didn’t even try to contain her giggles, making Hana blush even harder. All the time and effort she spent trying to prove to her colleagues that she was an adult was wasted now.

Stupid adorable baby shark family and their stupid catchy song.

“I…it’s stuff that reminds me of when I was a kid,” the mech operator answered quietly, still avoiding eye contact, “it helps me relax after missions.” It was embarrassing enough to be caught watching videos made for children, let alone confessing to a ritual which no one else had knowledge of. Hana almost wished Angela had caught her watching porn; at least that would be easier to explain. She prepared herself for more ridicule.

But instead, the doctor just nodded thoughtfully.

“Not a bad decompression technique,” Angela smiled gently, all sense of teasing gone, “we all have our own little practices after missions.” She added that there was nothing wrong with it, it was very healthy, in fact.

But when Hana asked what Dr. Ziegler did to wind down, there was an awkward silence, followed by the doctor’s cheeks turning as red as Hana’s had been.

“Ah, I know what you do,” Hana smirked, delighted to now have the upper hand, “you and Captain Amari, the younger one, you guys blow off steam ‘doing the do’, don’t you?” She cackled at the lack of response.

“That is none of your concern,” Angela tried to sound unaffected, “what Faree—I mean Captain Amari and I do off-duty is our business.” She knew it was unwise to gift Hana any kind of ammo for teasing; she was military after all and had ample knowledge of how to use it. However, she felt rather apologetic for interrupting the young soldier’s personal time, especially because her campaign for healthy post-mission relaxation around the base fell on too many deaf ears.

After a few minutes of wheezing laughter from Hana and gratuitous eye rolling from Angela, the younger woman sobered.

“Thanks for being cool about this,” Hana’s smile turned shy. Her thin fingers tapped anxiously on the edge of her desk. Dr. Ziegler had never been anything but kind to her in the first place but Hana’s experiences at war, and her ways of coping, were not something she ever shared with anyone else.

“It’s my pleasure, Hana,” Angela replied as she stood to smooth out her white lab coat, approaching the younger girl and tenderly placing a hand on her shoulder. Her warm gaze turned cartwheels in Hana’s abdomen. “If you ever want to talk about anything, anything at all, my door is always open.”

Hana nodded, watching as Angela exited her room and shut the door behind her. She slumped down in her chair, rubbing her temples. The embarrassment wore off but she was left with two confusing feelings: the stomach-tingling, almost euphoria of her mild crush on the beautiful doctor, and the sinking fear that said doctor was now aware of the turmoil going on in Hana’s mind.

“Athena?” The pane of glass emerging from the dresser next to her desk hummed to life, a dark rectangle with Watchpoint’s AI computer system logo on it greeting her. “Can you request an appointment for two days from now with Dr. Ziegler? I have some…matters to discuss with her.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated!


End file.
